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Book of Shadows
"The Book will grow as you grow. Sometimes you'll add to it and sometimes it teaches you." :—Melinda Warren to the Charmed Ones[src] : The Book of Shadows, often just referred to as The Book, is the magical tome of the Warren Line of Witches. It is the most powerful and coveted of the Books of Shadows in the whole world and is over 300 years old. The Book has been passed down every generation ever since it was created by Melinda Warren in the 17th century.[1] Besides all the information about the craft, the Book contains many entries on several beings from the magical community, including demons, warlocks, and other demonic beings. It also contains many spells and potion recipes, most of which were written by Penny Halliwell.[2] HistoryEdit http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb57524/charmed/images/8/8b/BOSanimation1.gifThe Charmed Ones' book was started by Melinda Warren, who began the Warren/Halliwell line of witches, with the year "1693" written on it's cover page. This actually creates a small discrepency within the series as Melinda is known to have died in 1692; however it is possible that she created the book, and her daughter Prudence started adding to it later. Although it was fairly small then, each succeeding generation of Warren witches had added onto it, including information that they came across and felt necessary to be journaled. One of the earliest entries that was around when Melinda was alive included a curse, and possibly the entry which details the coming of the Charmed Ones, through carvings, (mentioned in Something Wicca This Way Goes), though this could've been done by a future descendant . After Melinda was burned at the stake, the Book passed to her daughter Prudence, and was passed down throughout the generations. Penny Halliwell, often noted that she created most of the potion recipes in it (as Evil Witch Vanquishing Potion), and the only other entries we know for a fact that she wrote was the entry on the Necromancer, The Ice Cream Man and Gammill, The Collector. She wrote possible the Belthazor Vanquishing Spell, Upper Level Demonic Vanquishing Potion and the spells To Increase Patience and To Bind. Patty Halliwell added text on Barbas, the Demon of Fear, and also, the page on how to properly raise and nurture magical children. ("Happily Ever After," "From Fear to Eternity," "Reckless Abandon") The Charmed Ones themselves have added information, spells and potions, as well, for future generations. The first entry they made themselves was "Woogyman Spell", or how to banish the Shadow of the Nexus. Phoebe added a page on Cole Turner, Belthazor's human half including personal information like his favorite food and hobbies; "anything that could help future witches" after he'd broken her heart. This was reminiscent of the alterations Penny made to the Necromancer page, adding such things as "likes Clarke Gable movies" to aid in her getting over the end of their romantic relationship. Phoebe also wrote an entry on the warlock Anton. ("Is There a Woogy in the House?," "Pardon My Past," "Look Who's Barking," "Necromancing the Stone") A few spells in the Book of Shadows are used for personal gain. No explanation has been given to why such spells would be in the Book but it's likely that these spells were put in to teach future witches about the personal gain consequences; or as to they served a magical purpose to deal with evils of the time. At the end of the series, Piper, Phoebe and Paige added their own entries regarding what they've been through in their years as the Charmed Ones in order to pass down the knowledge to future generations. ("Forever Charmed") Leo added the entry titled, "Tips for Future Whitelighters," logging information about whitelighters and how to properly use their powers, for his sons, Chris and Wyatt, just in case he wasn't around to teach them, himself. Brad Kern has stated that when a Warren/Halliwell witch dies, their magic is ingrained within the Book. He says that when the sisters die, they, like their ancestors, will essentially become a part of the Book, so to speak. He goes on to say that he believes the Book to be a living entity within itself. At the end of the series when we are given a glimpse into the future, Wyatt and Chris Halliwell can be seen making a potion with the Book laying aloft the table top; it can be assumed that the sisters retire from their demon hunting and their progeny continue the Charmed Ones' destiny. The new Charmed Ones, also put many spells, potions, and entries on demons themselves. For instance in the last scene of episode "Kabar's Revenge", Saphire is seen writing an entry about Kabar. Stealing the Book of Shadows Many evils have attempted to steal the Book of Shadows on many occasions. *'The Shapeshifters:' A trio of shapeshifters posing as their neighbors tried to get the book. Although they could touch the book (representative of how the Charmed Ones weren't quite strong enough for its protection to be at full power yet), they couldn't get it out the front door. *'Abraxas:' This demon managed to capture it by bringing it to the Astral Plane. This was possible as, technically, the book was still in the house (or rather the area where the house would be on the Astral Plane) but just on another plane. Due to his telekinetic powers, he could easily flick through the pages and move the book without it hurting or repelling him. By reading the spells in the book backwards, he almost rebound the Charmed Ones' powers, but they were able to retrieve it just in time. *'Cole Turner:' The human half of Belthazor tried to get the book, however, by then it was strong enough that no evil could touch it. As a result, it jumped off its stand and avoided him everytime he took a step forward. He later mentioned that he got shocked the last time he tried to touch it. *'Dantalian:' A dark priestess named Dantalian worked with a warlock named Zile to capture Prue and unite them in a dark wedding ceremony which turned Prue into a warlock. By this time, the sisters' magic was so intertwined that the evil bond turned Piper and Phoebe into warlocks, and the influence contaminated the Book as well. Since the Book was now evil, Dantalian was able to steal it and take its power into her own hands -- thus becoming the first evil being to physically get the Book out of the manor. By vanquishing the warlock, the evil bond broke and the sisters and the book returned to normal. *'Bacarra:' In the alternate timeline of, the warlock Bacarra time traveled back a few months with knowledge from the future to help his past-self. He told him of a potion to blanket himself in goodness long enough to get through the Book's defenses, which contained among other ingredients Piper's blood. This allowed him to steal the book, which even he noted contained information on and vanquishing potions for nearly every demon he'd ever heard of. Fortunately, Piper traveled back to stop him the entire series of events from happening, and Bacarra never got the book. *'The Stillman Sisters:' Three evil low level witches, the Stillman Sisters, cast an identity theft spell to make the world see them as the Charmed Ones. The book saw the Stillmans as the Charmed Ones as well; it wouldn't even let the real sisters touch it. The Stillmans then broke into the Manor and used a spell in the Book to steal the sisters' powers. However, the real sisters were able to convince their whitelighter, Chris, that they were the real Charmed Ones. He tricked the Stillmans into fighting with each other and severing their bond as sisters, which undid identity theft spell. The real sisters then took back their powers, bound the Stillmans' and turned them over to the authorities. *'Zankou:' The demon Zankou was able to steal the Book by killing friends of the sisters and resurrecting innocents that they've lost, to make them feel weak and vulnerable. Whilst all three of them being mentally weakened, the Book's defenses were weakened as well and Zankou used the opportunity to take it. Though he managed to take it into his hands, he needed the sisters' powers to acess its magic. Since the sisters lost their confidence, the Book defended itself against them instead. Eventually they managed to get it back with a Power of Three spell. Powers and Abilities The Book of Shadows, is also notable because evil cannot touch it, thanks to the shielding & sensing powers it is blessed with. Nor can it be taken out of the Halliwell Manor, except by the sisters, good magical or non-magical being. This is particularly important, as many evil beings covet the book, and the Charmed Ones would be much weaker without its knowledge. Although it is protected by good magic, evil has found a way around this and captured the book several times. The Book is tied very closely to the Charmed Ones' powers. For example, when Rex Bucklans blackmailed them into giving up their powers, the Book turned blank after they cast the Relinquishment Spell. However, when Leo healed and restored the Book, their powers were restored as well. ("Wicca Envy") Though, when the Angel off Destiny offered to take away their powers in the Season 4 finale, Witch Way Now?, he said the Book would not be harmed, and would pass down to a future descendant. It can be presumed that its magic varies indifferently when it is passed on from one generation to the next, depending on its new master's magical state. Also, if one of the Charmed Ones turns evil, the other two will turn evil as well, and the evil will flow through the Book (although in later episodes, when one sister has turned evil, the other two did not succumb to it). Dantalian, a high-level demon priestess, realized this, and tricked Prue into marrying a warlock, Zile, turning her evil. As expected, this turned Piper, Phoebe and the Book evil as well, enabling her to briefly get the Book. The plan backfired when evil Piper and Phoebe vanquished Zile, breaking the evil bond and restoring the Book to normal. ("Bride and Gloom") In season four, in the episode Hell Hath No Fury, Paige tried to copy the book, but because of its protection power every page came out blank. The Book has a different protection mechanism against evil, when someone tried to take it in several episodes; jumping off the stand in Once Upon A Time and The Seven Year Witch, repelling the being away from the Book in Death Becomes Them, a spherical shield around the Book in Death Becomes Them, burning the user's hands in Imaginary Friends, and so on. In Thank You For Not Morphing, an evil shapeshifter is able to touch the book and take it as far as the front door before it repels itself from his grasp. In future episodes, it is established that it is impossible for evil to even touch the Book. In this episode, however, the Charmed Ones' magic was not strong enough for its full protection to be activated. For a demon or half-demon to be able to touch it without triggering its defensive properties, the being must have pure good intentions in his heart. According to one of the videos below, the magic the book possesses came from the deceased family ancestors who then become part of the book, which is presumably how it became so powerful throughout the centuries.